I hope he will not wear himself out prematurely with all his work.
If you should see him, do not say I mentioned his visit. It was rather painful. He was shy, and I, too, was nervous. One cannot spend a whole year alone on an island without feeling bewildered by the sudden apparition of a fellow-creature....
Tell your chauffeur to get the car ready. Should you find the neighbourhood very fascinating, you could always telegraph to him to bring it at once.
If the manufactory, or any other plans, prevent your coming, send me a few lines. Till we meet,
Your Elsie,
who perhaps after all is not suited to a hermit's life.
⁂ ⁂ ⁂
So he has dared!...
So all his passion, and his grief at parting, were purely a part that he played!... Who knows? Perhaps he was really glad to get rid of me....
Ah, but this scorn and contempt!...